Gas flows from Germany to Poland via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually sends Russian gas westwards into Europe, dropped sharply on Tuesday morning from levels seen during the past few days, data from German network operator Gascade showed.
The pipeline, which usually accounts for about a sixth of Russia’s annual gas exports to Europe and Turkey, has been operating in reverse mode since Dec. 21, putting upward pressure on European gas prices.
Eastbound flows were at 1.5 million kilowatt hours per hour (kWh/h) on Tuesday, down from around 5.9 million kWh/h seen on Monday and over the weekend.
Flows are expected to remain around this level until the early hours of Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Russian gas exporting monopoly Gazprom has not booked any transit capacity via the pipeline for February. And while it has a possibility to book it via daily auctions, it didn’t do so on Monday or Tuesday morning.
European benchmark gas prices jumped to a record 184.95 euros per megawatt hours (MWh) on Dec. 21 when the Yamal system reversed flow.
High prices have discouraged purchases of spot volumes from Russia, with buyers instead tapping stored gas in Europe, where storage levels have fallen below their five-year average.
Capacity nominations for supply to Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point, another major route for Russian gas deliveries to Europe, rose on Tuesday to their highest point so far in 2022.
Nominations were seen at 847,878 MWh, up from 513,897 MWh on Monday and around levels recorded at the end of December.
